bio

Cary Sasso (he/him) is a director, playwright, sometimes actor, and proud trans man. His work exists at the intersection of the gross, the queer, and the classical, advocating for shock and obscenity as a site of advocacy and specializing in adaptations of Shakespeare, particularly from queer and trans perspectives. He is the co-creator and director of a trans adaptation of Hamlet titled Hamlet: Prince of Denmark (14Y and NExT 2025), the writer and director of The Shakespearean Crossdressers Support Group (NExT 2025 and American Theater of Actors 2024), and the creator and director of Titus Andronicus …and Zombies! (StanShakes 2024). As an actor, his favorite roles include King Henry IV in Henry IV parts 1 and 2 (Stanford Shakespeare Company), Dr. Chebutykin in Three Sisters (Stanford TAPS), #00 in The Wolves (Stanford TAPS), Borachio in Much Ado About Nothing (Stanford Shakespeare Company), and Rosalind in As You Like It (Stanford Shakespeare Company). He is currently co-devising, co-producing, and playing Caesar in Cry Havoc, an immersive adaptation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Mad Composition Company @madcompositionco. He graduated from Stanford University in 2025 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa with an Honors BA with Distinction in Theater and Performance Studies and a BA with Distinction in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. His honors thesis is titled “Blood, Guts, Gore, and Ethics: Titus Andronicus as the Model for a Safe Campy Horror Comedy.” He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Mad Composition Company. He is currently based out of NYC. You can find him on instagram @cary.sasso